From the pensive gaze of Georgia O’Keeffe in profile to the carefree grins of Pablo Picasso and Françoise Gilot at the seashore, some of the most iconic portraits of artists and celebrities are part of the expansive collection of Bucks County resident Robert M. Infarinato.
More than 50 photographs from this assembly are on view at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown November 15⁍arch 15 in the exhibition, “Saving Face: Portraits from the Collection of Robert Infarinato.”
The exhibition features work by such famed photographers as Ansel Adams, Ruth Bernhard, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Imogen Cunningham, Philippe Halsman, Lotte Jacobi and Man Ray.
The portraits focus primarily on subjects who made their mark in the arts, including painters Henri Matisse and Mark Rothko, jazz musicians Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, Ella Fizgerald, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, dancer Martha Graham, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, writer Simone de Beauvoir, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and actresses Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren.
“What is it about portraiture that has driven some artists to their greatest heights of creativity?” asks guest curator Stephen Perloff, editor of The Photo Review , The Photograph Collector and Focus Magazine . “The tilt of the head, the expression of the face, the eyes, the posture of the body, the gesture of the hands, the style of the clothing are all absorbed in a moment, then contemplated for years, with each glance revealing even more about both artist and subject,” he said.
“The collection assembled by Bucks County resident Robert Infarinato is rich with masterful portraits by some of the most renowned photographers as well as photographs by younger and lesser known photographers whose work holds its own with these established masters,” Perloff added.
An avid amateur photographer and photography collector, Infarinato began collecting photographs in 1984. He prefers to build his collection by discovering images during travels rather than through auctions and the Internet. In his opinion, collecting involves a good dose of serendipity so he does not carry a wish list of images, but simply keeps his eyes open and maintains a spirit of adventure.
Infarinato’s collection has been exhibited by his alma mater, Syracuse University, on its main campus and in New York City.
In conjunction with “Saving Face,” the museum will hosts a curator’s lecture by Perloff on Wednesday, December 3, from 1 to 2 pm; free with museum admission. Advance registration is required by calling 215-340-9800. For general museum information, www.michenermuseum.org .
